Can you trust the cloud with your data?

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Can you trust the cloud with your data? -

According to research firm Gartner, Inc., consumers will store 36 percent of their digital content in the cloud in 2016.

with all the information housed on servers and zipping around the waves every day, it, AOS not surprising that cloud storage has become a prime target for hackers.

Fortunately, with a little information and some simple research, you can make informed decisions on how you use the cloud.

the basics of Cloud Storage

cloud is a network of servers that can be accessed remotely by personal computers, mobile devices and applications.

The servers, which can contain your information, files, photos and music, sit in a building somewhere.

Security Issues of the Cloud Storage

The main cloud storage-related security issues are outbreaks of malware and theft hacker.

There is no secret that wireless networks and even wired transmissions can be intercepted and used for unsavory. Because of the need to connect cloud storage remotely whenever you use your password, upload a file, or download a file, data and information are at risk of piracy with the proper tools.

Most, if not all cloud storage providers will help you protect with a certain level of encryption, recent surveys have shown, however, that know exactly what is encrypted, and what is not, is important .

Wired recently reviewed Apple, AOS popular iCloud service and found that, while the documents, photos, and media were scrambled to prevent access, notes and e-mails sent by address @ me.com were not.

Even with these concerns in mind, there is hope for cloud storage yet.

Do your part to protect your data

The most basic step you can take to protect your data by using a strong password. The basics are simple: more, mixed case, combinations of letters, numbers and special characters that do not follow the rules of English grammar are best

Research has shown that all lowercase six. letter password takes as little as 10 minutes to crack. Remember that chance is your friend (instead of cowgirl87 try c0Wg1rL # 87!) And do not use the same password on multiple sites, regardless of the convenience.

Next, make sure your connection and transmission of information to the cloud is encrypted. Start by password protecting your wireless network (using the password rules above), selecting the WPA setting.

Since the data sent over the connection can not be encrypted until it is received by the server, encrypting your data before downloading is also a wise step. This article describes a product (free for users, $ 100 for businesses) that creates a virtual partition of your data, which can be used with services like Dropbox and Skydrive to encrypt your data before sending it to the service provider .

Finally, consider what you send to the cloud storage and whether the convenience is worth it. Having your income statements easily accessible if you are working remotely is certainly at hand, but is it useful to these sensitive financial information at risk?

Home media such as photos, music and video are less costly if lost or stolen, but your identity is priceless. And this kind of identity theft occurs when individuals download their lives in the cloud: a Wired writer had indeed its entire digital life erased when a hacker broke into its cloud storage. The risks are very real, and the consequences can be scary, but arm yourself with this kind of knowledge can make the Internet a less treacherous place.

Select your cloud service provider wisely

The last step you can take to ensure data security involves a simple call or email to potential service providers. Here are some questions to ask when vetting your supplier :?

  • Has your organization experienced a violation of the loss of security data and, if you have, what you don, AOT to prevent future intrusions
  • do you offer the authentication of two, Äìstep?
  • Does your service keep several copies of my data in case of server loss?
  • Is your service to distribute several copies of my data on servers in different geographical locations in case of natural disaster?
  • What precautions do you take to keep your employees to steal information?
  • At what point (upload, storage, download) is my encrypted data and encryption keys are stored on a central server?
  • How long does it take for a file to remove all copies of your servers? My files are never really deleted from your servers?

The key is to determine what risks you take when using each service. Know your risks, know your assets, and you, Äôll you much better equipped for breach or data loss.

In the information age, information is the most powerful tool. Use passwords, encrypt your connection and data, and weigh the convenience to safety when choosing what to store in the cloud.

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